Kellogg Foundation Awards AAJA Grant to Fund Media Access Trainings

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) with a $100,000 grant to fund six free media access trainings and an education forum on structural racism at the 2013 AAJA National Convention.

Please read the following press release for more information on the partnership between AAJA and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 21, 2013.

AAJA to Provide Educational Forum on Structural Racism, Media Access Trainings for AAPI Communities, Businesses with the Support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Educational forum will be held at the 23rd Annual AAJA Convention in New York in August; media access trainings in six cities nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO — In order to improve news coverage of issues facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), the Asian American Journalists Association will offer an educational forum on structural racism at its 23rd Annual AAJA Convention in New York and a series of media access training workshops nationwide for AAPI community members and businesses.

“These programs further our mission to ensure news organizations are including voices from the AAPI community on key issues,” said AAJA President Paul Cheung, “while providing the AAPI community an awareness of how to access news media.”

The project is funded by a $100,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Mich.

“We are pleased to partner with the Asian American Journalists Association to elevate community voice across this changing media landscape,” said Joanne Krell, Vice President for Communications at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “Our aim is to improve media literacy in communities, support journalists of color and provide educational opportunities to raise awareness of implicit bias in the media and its impact on vulnerable children and families.”

AAJA members, community leaders and community/media sponsors will attend the invite-only forum on structural racism, which will be held on the Friday of the convention, Aug. 23.

After the convention, AAJA and its local chapters will hold free media access trainings in six cities, with location details to come this fall. Participants, including AAPI community members and business owners, will learn about accessing the media, media literacy and unconscious bias, as well as how to write op-eds for their regional newspapers.

“We are thankful to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for this opportunity,” said AAJA Executive Director Kathy Chow, “and look forward to building a strong partnership with the foundation to provide quality educational forums for the AAPI community in key cities across the country.”

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a nonprofit professional and educational organization with more than 1,700 members across the United States and in Asia. Founded in 1981, AAJA has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry. AAJA’s mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, to increase the number of AAPI news managers and executives and to work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs. AAJA is an alliance partner in UNITY Journalists, along with the Native American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. To learn more about AAJA, visit www.aaja.org.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.